Traditionally, men are seen as protectors and breadwinners. They are often taught that it’s wrong to express feelings. Though this stigma is slowly and steadily changing, some parts of our culture still don’t leave space for men to express their inner struggles. As a consequence, they face challenges in expressing their emotions which negatively impacts their mental health.
A lot of men are unaware of the signs of their mental health declining. In this article, we’ll take a look at the challenges faced by men in coping with their mental health.
The stigma of mental health
There’s an age-old stigma in context to men’s mental health that’s gradually tumbling down. Even so, there’s a long way to go to crush the stigma out, and this is the crucial aspect of men not seeking help.
It’s sad to say that men are conditioned to believe that mental health struggles are a sign of weakness and a threat to masculinity. As well, such things should be dealt with on your own.
Furthermore, a lot of men are compelled to believe that they need to be strong. They are coached to see emotions as a weakness and to abandon them as much as they can. Additionally, seeking help is a sign of weakness.
Not looking for help
Men are less likely to seek help from family, friends or doctors for their mental health due to the existing stigma. However, many bulk billed doctors in Australia are there to provide support to men in dealing with their mental problems. But because men are not ready to seek help, these services are underused.
Too often, whenever men struggle with their mental health, society often tells them to “man up”. Notions like this contribute to men being hesitant to seek help for their mental health.
Further, resistance to help due to a culture of dismissal causes an increment of mental health issues. Failing to provide financial support to the family and heartbreak due to relationships are the highlighted reasons behind men’s mental health problems. As men think “real men” don’t express their emotions, they are more likely to suppress all their concerns.
Violent actions
Men are traditionally expected to behave in a certain way. The traditional concept of masculinity favors strength, dominance and control. And when men fail to cope with their mental health problems, the bottled-up things come out in various ways. Sadly, the most common way is getting angry and violent.
Temper tends to overshadow men’s anxiety, stress, depression and other mental health problems. Conversely, women showcase their issues by being sad. One of the triggering reasons for men’s resistance towards their mental health issues is the traditional teaching of suppressing emotions. Instead, showing negative emotions like anger.
Therefore, many domestic violence cases come into the light, wherein male dominate and control people of the same or another gender. This can impose a life threat to their closest people.
Due to mental health issues, men are 3.5 times more likely to lose life due to suicide than women.
As men fail to admit to seeking help, they tend to pick other ways for redirecting their mental health issues, like violent outbursts, and in extreme cases, self-harm and suicide. On the flip side, women are more likely to fall into the trap of drugs and exsanguination.
Men and women’s mental health conditions differ due to many reasons. The concerning factor in men is unmasking their concerns and unwillingness to seek treatment. Many bulk billed GPs in Australia offer high-quality support to men experiencing mental health issues. Remember, emotions have nothing to do with gender, embrace them for the benefit of society at large!
